numents of fo great Antiquity, is nothing near fo much to be wonder'd at, as that any at all have been preferv'd and tranfmitted to us.

The merciful Providence of God has, however, taken care, at all Events, to fecure enough to Men thro' all Ages, to build a firm and well-grounded Faith upon; to nourish their Hope of immortal Blifs, through the Merits of their glorious Redeemer; and, above all, to let them fee that Charity, mutual Love and Benevolence, is the indifpenfable Qualification of all thofe, who are ambitious of being the Children of God.

But to return: The Promotion of the Judges was not hereditary; but purely elective. They whofe Talents or Endowments mark'd them out as proper Perfons to fill that Station, were defired to accept of the Office by the concurrent Suffrages of the People. And this being the Manner of Government which God himself defign'd for them, as long as they continued to be contented with it, his divine Providence fo far concern'd it felf in thefe Elections, as to dispose them to

16.

ib. iii. 9.

15.

16.

34.

pitch upon those Persons who were most capable of defending them, and of conducting their Affairs with the best Succefs.

And therefore it is faid, upon thofe Judg. ii. Occafions, that God raised them up deliverers. Nay, Gideon was appointed, by God, immediately; The LORD looked on bim, and faid; Go, in this thy might, and thou shalt fave Ifrael from the hand of the Midianites; have not I fent thee? Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites, as one man. Again; The Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet, and Abiezer was gathered after him. And be fent messengers throughout all Manaffeh, who also was gathered after him; and be fent messengers unto Afher, and unto Zebulon, and unto Naphtali; and they came up to meet them.

And of Samfon likewife a Defignation to be Judge of Ifrael was made, by an Angel of the LORD, even before he was ib. xiii. 5. born. It is faid to his Mother; Lo, thou fhalt conceive and bear a fon, and no razor shall come on his head; and be fhall begin to deliver Ifrael out of the band of

the

the Philistines. And, of Samuel it is faid, that all Ifrael, from Dan even to Beer- 1 Sam. iii. fheba, knew that Samuel was established 20. to be a Prophet of the LORD. No wonder therefore that, after the Death of Eli, we find him, in the Quality of Judge, ordering, and prefiding over, the Affairs of the Ifraelites.

And, as a Confirmation, that it was not with God's good Liking and Approbation, either that the Succeffion fhould be hereditary, or that any particular Person fhould be fixed in this Station, for Life; unless he was wanted, or behaved himself well during that whole Time; when the People were inebriated with their good Succefs against the Midianites, and complimented Gideon with this tempting Offer; Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy Judg. viii. fon, and thy fon's fon alfo; for thou haft de- 22, 23. livered us from the band of Midian: The Answer of Gideon, like that of a godlike Hero, was, as follows; I will not rule over you, neither shall my fon rule over you: The LORD fhall rule over you. And though his Son Abimelech did fucceed him, by flaying his seventy Brethren, it appears Ff2

that

that God was highly difpleas'd with his Conduct, and accordingly took him off by Judg. ix. an infamous Death.

53.56.

16.18,19.

To fhew that this kind of Government by Judges thus chofen, was very agreeable to, and a Part of, the Plan which God himself had defign'd for them, we read that, when, after the Death of Joshua, they had provok'd the LORD, Judg. ii. by following other Gods, Nevertheless the LORD raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hands of those that Spoiled them. And when the LORD raijed them up judges, then the LORD was with the judge; and delivered them out of the bands of their enemies, all the days of the judge. And, it came to pass when the judge was dead, that they turned and corrupted themselves more than their fathers.

And, to fhew that they were chofen out of any Tribe or Family indifferently, we may observe that, of the whole Number which we have upon Record, which is fixteen, nine of them were out of nine different Tribes.

SECT.

SECT. XII.

The KINGS.

They were fucceeded by the Kings; but, upon a quite different Footing and Establishment. For whereas the others, were chofen only to fee the Laws executed; or to head the People, when they found it neceffary to march out and engage their Enemies: Thefe exercis'd a defpotic Power; made War, when, and with whom they pleas'd; and regarded the Law just as much as they thought fit; juft, as it fuited with their Humour or Conveniency.

God indeed, foreseeing, that when his People, by his good Providence, had got Poffeffion of the promis'd Land, and were blefs'd with every thing defirable in Life, Profperity would make them. wanton; and that they would be apt to run into the luxurious Fashions of the Heathen Nations that liv'd round about them, to serve their Gods, and to defire a King, to whom they might be Slaves, as the others were; yet, kindly Ff3 and